Cooking Up Some Love

A few things first...

I never follow a recipe as it is written. (That's just no fun.)
I never measure anything out exactly. (Also no fun.)

but most importantly

I NEVER FEEL BAD ABOUT WHAT I EAT.

That being said I always try to make what I like healthy... and still taste as good as the original thing. That, of course, is not always possible, but I come pretty darn close sometimes.

Sunday, January 15

Dinner? I thought we were doing Dessert.

Ok I confess:
1) I hardly post like I should as I seem to have all the time in the world.
&
2) Sometimes having sweets for dinner just sounds so much better than actually cooking a meal.

So I started looking for ideas online for cookies since Nathan didn't want chocolate chip. Weird right? So I stumble upon an idea for almond-coconut oatmeal cookies. Now oatmeal cookie is my favorite so I got down to business realizing half way through that of course I had picked a "healthy" recipe. Oops. All the better for me to mess with it though since chances as better than not that it would have a funny texture anyway. I hampered the recipe so much though that even putting the original up here just seems silly.

So ingredients:

DRY
1 1/4 cups rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour (pastry or otherwise)
3/4 tsp of baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup of UNSWEETENED shredded coconut
1/2 chopped almonds

MOIST
1/2 cup butter (yes real honest to goodness butter)
1 to 2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar free table syrup (if this freaks you out, just use all real maple syrup)
1/4 cup real maple syrup (for flavor mainly so if you can handle all sugar free, go for it)

TOPPING
cinnamon for sprinkling
stevia for sprinkling (i prefer Truvia)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F
  2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  3. Place all dry ingredients into a bowl and mix well.
  4. Brown butter and let cool slightly. (you can skip this step, but you'll lose a LOT of flavor. just saying)
  5. Mix all wet ingredients together.
  6. Mix wet and dry ingredients together.
  7. Make small balls and place onto the cookie sheet.
  8. Squash down for flat cookies and leave round for fat cookies (these don't spread).
  9. Sprinkle with cinnamon and stevia.
  10. Bake for 12-15 minutes.
  11. Cool for as long as you can wait... about 30 seconds for us.

They go great with milk and tea. They have more of a muffin-y texture the fatter they are from the lessened amount of butter/oil in them. No matter the texture, cookie or muffin, they are tasty. :]